Category: Print Newsletter Archive

The Spirit of Faith Newsletter – September 1982 (Print Edition)

“The Mental Battleground”

“The mind has been called the battleground of satan, and indeed it is! But, you have to remember, your mind is not the real you. YOU are a spirit, YOU have a mind, and YOU live in a body. (1 Thess. 5:23) God has given us weapons that are effective in this battle in the mind. In 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, we are told that our weapons are not physical weapons because we are not to do physical battle. Satan is not a physical being, neither are his cohorts. In order to do battle with them we need spiritual weapons. Me not only have these weapons, we are told that they are mighty – through God!

Notice the area of battle it speaks of in verse five, Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.’ The word in the Greek translated, “strongholds,” is the word “ochuroma,” meaning “fortify, holding, castle, figuratively, an argument.” Satan tries to establish fortified castles of arguments in your mind. Sometimes these “arguments” are like castles, hard to penetrate! But we can! We have the necessary weapons – the major one being the sword of the spirit, the Word of God! (Eph. 6:17) The word, “imagination” in this text means, “computations, reasoning, conscience and conceit” and the word “thought” means, “perception, purpose, the intellect, disposition” and comes from a word meaning, “to exercise the mind.” Why go into this word study? Because we need to see something important. Satan would love to get you involved with deceptive thinking, doubts, fears, worrying, etc., until you are so caught up in it that you are of no use to yourself or anyone else!

We need to grab hold of what we think on and bring it into line with the Word of God! Philippians 4:8 says, “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, THINK ON THESE THINGS.” What one thing do we have that meets all of these qualifications? The Word of God! How can you win this mental war? You have the primary weapon – The Word! Use it! Think on it, and what it has to say about your situation. Soon, as you begin to meditate on the Word and speak it, your circumstances will begin to agree with the Word and your mind will no longer put forth arguments about it! You will have won the battle!

Items of Interest in This Issue

Spirit of Faith Broadcast invitation… Satellite Poster for Charles Capps Satellite Seminar in Lexington Holiday Inn beginning this month… This issue of the Spirit of Faith Newsletter was the first printed on our new computer system (a Radio Shack Color Computer with 4K of memory and a dot matrix printer!)

The Spirit of Faith Newsletter – August 1982 (Print Edition)

“Hope?”

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. ” (Hebrews 11:1) This has been called, correctly, the Bible definition of faith. But what does this really mean? One translation says that faith is the “giving of substance to things hoped for.” Faith is the spiritual power that is applied to natural things to cause a change. Notice that this power of faith gives substance to what is hoped for, this would indicate the importance of hope. We, as “Word People,” have spoken disparagingly of hope in the past. We’ve said, “If you’re just ‘hopein’ and prayin” about it, then you’re just wasting your time.” To some extent this is true, that is, if all you are doing is “hopein’ and prayin,”‘ it won’t work. Faith must be part of your prayer if it is going to work, notice, faith is the force that gives substance to the hope. But, we can’t eliminate hope from our life and teaching on the victorious Christian life. We need to define the word “hope.” The English Dictionary says, “desire with expectation of obtaining what is desired, or belief that it is obtainable.” The Greek word used is “elpis“, which means “favorable expectation or anticipation”. You can easily see that real, Bible hope is very different from the way most people use the word. To say, ” I sure hope that God will heal me someday” is not what true, Bible hope is about. It is rather a confidence… something that is firm.

If you are a man of your word, and you told me, “I’ll be at your house at 3:00 o’clock in the afternoon, and we’ll have coffee and doughnuts,” then I will expectantly prepare for your arrival by having the coffee and doughnuts ready at 3:00 o’clock. In other words, I’ll make every preparation, and I won’t be surprised when at 2:59, you knock on my door. Unfortunately, we don’t always act this way about spiritual things. Yet, spiritual things are more real than physical things around us. It was the spiritual force of God’s faith that He used to create all these physical things. (Hebrews 11:3) Hope should be a goal setter for the believer. Use your hope to form an image on the inside of you! You can receive whatever you can vividly see on the inside of you by applying your faith to it. The only limiting factor is your lack of vision. Without a vision the people perish (or fail). (Proverbs 29:18) However, with vision, we will succeed! You need to develop a divinely inspired goal. All that a vision is is a divinely inspired goal! The Hebrew word for vision is, “chazown,” which means, “sight or revelation.” You must have an inner sight of whatever your need is – fulfilled! And realize this – hope is a mental power, while faith is a spiritual power. If you can keep the two separate, and in their place – then Hebrews 11:1 will be real to you! Your faith will begin to give substance and reality to that which you have envisioned!

Items of Interest in This Issue

Report on “Healing Springs Faith Center”… Tape offer on “Catching the Vision” of the local church and the upcoming satellite ministry… Radio Topic List… Spirit of Faith Broadcast invitation… Itinerary… Satellite Poster for Charles Capps Satellite Seminar next month

The Spirit of Faith Newsletter -July 1982 (Print Edition)

“Receiving the Word!”

You’ve heard a lot of good teaching about the fact that the Word of God is the answer to your problems and contains the power to solve your problems. (Rom. 1:16) This is sound teaching, however, many folks say, “Well, it doesn’t seem to work for me!” There are many reasons that people don’t receive the provisions that God has made available, but the most basic one is a failure to receive from God’s Word properly.

“So then, faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. ” (Rom. 10:17) If the faith that you need comes from the Word of God, then you had better be receiving it properly or you will have no basic foundation to begin with. For instance, many folks believe that all they need do is listen half-heartedly to tapes of the Word of God and this will give them strong faith. Now, there’s nothing wrong with Bible tapes, don’t get me wrong! But that is not what Romans 10:17 is talking about. If you check it out in the Greek it says, “Faith comes by continually hearing sound teaching from the Word of God with more than the mere sense of hearing, but rather, hearing and receiving the teaching. This is a paraphrase based on the meaning of this verse. It is so important to properly receive teaching. How does the Word say we should do this?

James 1:21 tells us: “… receive with meekness the engrafted Word, which is able to save your souls. ” The word “soul” here is the Greek word psuche, meaning “the animal sentient principle only, the mind, will and emotions.” Thayer describes it as “the seat of feelings, desires, affections and aversions,” in other words, it is the mental realm of man. An expanded paraphrase of this verse would be: “… receive the Word as a seed implanted in your human spirit (Mark 4:14, Luke 8:11) with meekness, which contains the power to save, deliver, heal and protect your mind ” Praise the Lord! The key to this verse is to receive with meekness. What is meekness?

The word translated “meekness” in the King James literally means (according to Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words) “… that temper of the spirit in which we accept His dealings with us as good (James 1:16-17), and therefore without disputing or resisting… it is closely linked with the word ‘humility’… (it) does not fight against God and more or less struggle and contend with Him… it does not suggest weakness as the English does. ” When we think of meekness we think of “meek as a mouse”. This is not what the Greek says! To be Biblically meek is to receive from God with the right attitude. That of, “What God says is true, is true, despite what I may think, what man may think, what any denomination or theologian says!” With this attitude you will receive from God’s Word!

Items of Interest in This Issue

Church name changes from “Word of Faith Fellowship” to “Healing Springs Faith Center”… Tape offer from the Spirit of Faith Seminar in Winston-Salem at New Covenant Church… Announcement about starting Word of Faith Satellite Seminars… Spirit of Faith Broadcast invitation… Itinerary

The Spirit of Faith Newsletter -June 1982 (Print Edition)

“Attitude?”

Attitude? What is so important about our attitude? 2 Corinthians 4:13 says, “We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak…” The term that is used here – “the spirit of faith”, is not talking about the Holy Spirit or even the human spirit. It is used in the same sense that we would say, “He’s got the school spirit.” In other words, it denotes a winning attitude! Notice, we have the same spirit of faith, or attitude of faith; this is followed by, “I believed… I spoke.” Your believing and speaking is the result of your attitude.

Many Christians are not speaking the Word of God over their situation because their attitude is wrong! They don’t have a “spirit of faith;” instead, they have a defeated, lackadaisical attitude…”I don’t know why this ‘faith stuff’ doesn’t work for me… why bother?” They may have meditated on the Word, listened to good tapes, confessed the Word for days… weeks, even months; yet they let their attitude fall even for a moment and they lose their zeal, their confession, and most important – their victory!

Paul said that the children of Israel had a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. (Romans 10:2) We, as Christians, need zeal with knowledge! Hosea 4:6 tells us that God’s people are failing, perishing and being destroyed for a lack of knowledge.

Notice it says that we have a knowledge problem, not a faith problem! It Is not your lack of faith that is holding you back, it is your lack of knowledge! Knowledge of what? Knowledge of the Word of God! Yet, even if you were to have all the knowledge necessary to be victorious in life through the Word, and you knew exactly what to pray and confess; if you didn’t have a winning attitude you wouldn’t even try! We need this attitude of faith! It is an attitude that looks at the circumstances in the light of God’s Word, not how bad it may “look”. Paul was beaten, shipwrecked, stoned and left dead…but he raised up and walked on! Why? Look at what he says about those circumstances, “…For our light affliction (pressure,) which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; (notice) while we look not at the things that are seen, but at the things which are not seen (the Word of God): for the things which are seen (his circumstances) are temporal (TEMPORARY; subject to change); but the things which are not seen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:17, 18) I added the inserts to emphasize what Paul was saying. He called all the terrible things he suffered “light afflictions…which were but for a moment!” How could he say this? He said that only while he wasn’t looking at the circumstances, but rather at the Word of God. He had his eye fixed on what the Word said, not on his circumstances.

Haven’t you ever noticed that the terrible, earth-shattering trouble that you were in last year at this time; the one that you were sure would do you in… now seems like a light affliction which was but for a moment? While you were in the circumstances they seemed too awesome to overcome. Now, looking back on them you might say, “Well, it wasn’t so bad, I made it through all right after all!” What has changed? Your attitude! If you would learn Paul’s secret, you would keep up an attitude of faith! What was that secret? Look at what the Word says, not at the circumstances. Circumstances are temporary. The Lord told me something once that I almost missed, He said, “Circumstances always change.” I thought, “So?” He said, “You don’t understand. Circumstances are always changing, either for the good or the bad. The key is to use My Word to change the circumstance of your life to line up with the Word. You are a world overcomer!” 1 John 5:4 says that we are world overcomers, and that the victory that overcomes the world (and circumstances) is our faith! We need to keep a “SPIRIT OF FAITH,” a winning attitude, at all times as we apply our faith!

Items of Interest in This Issue

A Spirit of Faith Seminar report from our Lexington, NC meeting, a reminder for the Spirit of Faith Seminar coming to New Covenant Church in Winston-Salem, NC in June of 1982, a tape offer on “Our Attitude of Faith!”

The Spirit of Faith Newsletter – May 1982 (Print Edition)

“The Power of Words”

Words are containers of power. They carry either positive power, faith, or they carry negative power, fear and unbelief. Some might say, “I just don’t think that our words are that important!” Well, as always, we need to look at what the Bible has to say about it.

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” (Proverbs 18:21)

“For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” (Matthew 12:37)

“Teach me, and I will hold my tongue: and cause me to understand wherein I have erred. How forcible are right words! But what doth your arguing reprove?” (Job 6:24, 25)

“And the tongue is a fire…and setteth on fire the course of nature…” (James 3:6)

This is just a short list of scriptures on the subject. Notice the last one we quoted, James 3:6, it says that the tongue sets into motion the course of natural events, at least, that is what the Greek rendering of this verse is. How important are your words? They determine your circumstances and the events of your natural life. This goes back to the fact that death and life are in the power of your words. That is why it is all important that we choose what we speak, and speak only life-giving words, words filled with faith and the Life of God!

Like Job did, we need to hold our tongues and allow God to teach us where we have erred in our speaking. However, the Bible tells us that we can not tame our tongues with our own natural ability like we would tame an animal. (James 3:7, 8) How can we tame our tongues then? Well, Jesus said that out of the abundance of what is in our heart or spirit, our mouth will speak. (Matthew 12:34) Instead of bearing down on the words coming out of your mouth, we need to look to what we are putting in our spirit in abundance. That’s why Jesus said, “Take heed what you hear…’ (Mark 4:24) What comes out of our mouth depends entirely on what we put in our spirits. You can’t hear people tell you that the Word of God doesn’t work, and that you have to fail…day after day; without it affecting you. Take heed what you hear! You can’t avoid all doubt, fear and unbelief; but you can choose what you hear in abundance. The entrance to the human spirit is the hearing. “Faith cometh by hearing…” (Romans 10:17) But so does fear…doubt…unbelief. Guard your spirit, keep it. protect it. (Proverbs 4:23, 24)

Items of Interest in This Issue

Word of Faith Fellowship Invitation… Special Tape Offer… Spirit of Faith Broadcast coverage map

The Spirit of Faith Newsletter – April 1982 (Print Edition)

“Prayer: Our Tool to Change Things”

“The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” James 5:16b

What is effectual prayer? It is prayer that is effective, it causes an effect. It works! It does something to change your circumstances. When we pray we don’t change God, He is unchangeable. (Mai. 3:6} You pray to change circumstances. You can change things through prayer! There are four types of prayer that change things: The Prayer of Agreement (Matt. 18:19, 20), The Prayer of Binding and Loosing (Matt. 18:18), The Prayer of Petition and Supplication (Phil. 4:6, 1 Tim. 2:1), and The Prayer of Intercession (1 Tim. 2:1, Rom. 8:26, Col. 2:1). These types of prayer are like tools… if they are used properly they will get the job done.

You would never try to use a hammer to drill a hole! The proper tool for the job would be a drill. In the same way, you should never use one type of prayer to do the job of some other type of prayer. The Prayer of Agreement might be appropriate for one thing, the Prayer of Intercession for another. There are different types of prayer. Ephesians 6:18 says that we should pray always with all prayer (the Greek says, “…all different kinds of prayer.”) God has given us the proper tools to do the job!

Jesus taught His staff to pray, “… (God’s) will be done in earth, as it is in Heaven…” (Matt. 6:10) In other words, pray that things here on earth be done in the same way that they are done in Heaven. Is there any sickness in Heaven? Any pain? Any lack? NO! Well then, from what Jesus said to pray, it is not God’s will that those things torment us here in earth either. If it is not His will for these things to exist, then why don’t they just disappear? Well, it is God’s will that all men be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth too (1 Tim. 2:4), but that is not happening automatically. It requires something on the part of the individual receiving it. So it is with these other things. You must learn to use the proper type of prayer to change things here on earth to have them line up with the Word of God.

Romans 10:8-9 says, “What saith it? The Word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the Word of Faith, which we preach; that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” The word translated “saved” here is the Greek word “sozo,” meaning “saved, delivered, healed, protected, made whole spirit, soul and body, and delivered from temporal evil.” That means that if you have confessed Jesus as Lord, and believed that God raised Him from the dead, then you are the healed, you are the delivered, you are the protected! If this is so, and the Bible says that it is, then why are Christians sick, weak and in bondage? James 4:2b-3 says, “…ye have not because ye ask not. Ye ask and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.” Many Christians are asking amiss, or in the wrong way, with the wrong type of prayer, or with wrong motives!

God said that His people are perishing and being destroyed for a lack of knowledge. (Hosea 4:6) It is time that we began to study to show ourselves approved, that we won’t be ashamed and come up short in our Christian walk! (2 Tim. 2:15)

Items of Interest in This Issue

Word of Faith Fellowship Invitation… Special Tape Offer… Spirit of Faith Broadcast coverage map

The Spirit of Faith Newsletter – March 1982 (Print Edition)

“Temptation Pressure”

Many people equate temptation with sin. Some say, “Well, if you were tempted to commit adultery, then like Jesus said in the Book of Matthew, you have.” Wait a minute! What did Jesus say in that passage? “But I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” (Matt. 5:28) There are two key phrases here. Jesus was not saying that being tempted to commit adultery was a sin. It was the lusting that was sin.

A definition for lust is, “inordinate desire,” or desiring something that is not in line with the Word of God. If you are married and desire someone other than your wife, you are lusting. That in and of itself is a sin. (1 Cor. 10:6) Also notice the other phrase we underlined; “…in his heart.” This was not simply a passing thought that went through the mind as a temptation. This was not in the mind at all, it was in the heart. That is, the spirit of the man Jesus was speaking of; he had obviously meditated on it until it was in his heart. If you have dwelled on something in your mind, and perhaps even said it out of your mouth, and then it gets into your heart, given the chance you would do it!

No, temptation can not be the same as sin. The Word of God tells us that Jesus was completely without sin, He didn’t commit sin, indeed, He “knew no sin”. (2 Cor. 5:21) Yet, in Hebrews 4:15 it says, “For we have not an High Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” If, as it says, Jesus was tempted like as we are, and if temptation is sin, then Jesus must have sinned! But you and I both know that Jesus didn’t sin, it even says, “…yet without sin.” Therefore, temptation and sin are not the same. Satan has duped some into believing this in the past, and then told them, “Since your mere thought of it was sin, you might as well go ahead and do it.” He’s a liar! As we’ve seen, when he put that thought, whatever it might be, in your head, it was not then sin. You should have immediately brought that thought captive, and cast it down and out of your mind! (2 Cor. 10:5)

You’ve heard me use the term, “concordant literal” before. It means that if you take a verse of scripture, look up every word in it, find out what the Greek words actual meaning is, and then write it down so that it makes sense, you will have a literal rendering from your concordance. Look at what 1 Cor. 10:13 says it this “concordant literal” rendering: “There has no deep sea of trial and temptation taken hold of you but such as is natural, human, and after the manner of men, but trustworthy God will not permit you to be tested or enticed beyond or over your ability or empowering, but will (when temptation comes) join to it and make an exit to get out of it that you’ll be enabled and empowered to get out from under it.” Some look at this verse and say, “See, God tempts you. It says that He’ll make a way to escape when He tempts you.” NO! You’ve read it all wrong! James 1:13 says that no man should say that he is tempted by God, because God doesn’t tempt. No, what 1 Corinthians 10:13 is saying is that when satan tempts you, God will immediately join to it a way of, not just “bearing the temptation,” but a way to actually get out from under it! He empowers you, so that you can get out from under the power of the temptation! Praise the Lord!

Our tape offer this month is a tape that was recorded at Word of Faith Fellowship during a recent Sunday morning service, the title is: “Understanding Types, Figures and Temptation”. You may have this tape for a contribution of $2.00 or more to Word of Faith Ministries this month.

Items of Interest in This Issue

Itinerary… Special Tape Offer… Spirit of Faith Broadcast coverage map

The Spirit of Faith Newsletter – February 1982 (Print Edition)

“God Wants You to Prosper!”

Yes, God wants you to prosper in all that you do. “…Let the Lord be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.” (Psalms 35: 27) Notice, God takes pleasure in your prosperity, not your poverty! Many have taught that God wants His people poor and downtrodden in this earth; at the mercy of the world’s system all their lives; but folks that just is not the truth; In fact, it is a lie straight from Hell! 3 John 2 says that God wants us to prosper and be in health, even as our mind, will and emotions prosper, or are renewed to the Word. 2 Corinthians 8:9 says that through Jesus’ poverty we were made to be rich. Isaiah 48:17 says that God will teach you how to profit. Indeed, the word in the Hebrew used here is, “lamad“, which means, “goad, teach, give incentive.” God would not teach you how to prosper, give you the incentive to prosper, and then turn around and say, “I really don’t want you to prosper.” That would be double minded, and God is not double minded about anything! Deuteronomy 8:18 says that it is God that gives us the power to get wealth, that He may establish His Covenant on the earth. This has a double meaning to us. He will establish His Word by prospering us, because He said He would; and He will establish His Word in the earth by giving us the power to get wealth and use that wealth to proclaim His Word to the world! Proverbs 8:21 says, “That I may cause those that love Me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures.” Do you love God? Then you should expect an inheritance and full treasures!

If it is so obvious that the Word of God teaches that we should be prospering as Christians, then why have so many taught against it? Well, to fully understand it, you must realize that the “Poverty teaching” that we have been saddled with so long has its root in Eastern religions. These beliefs in such things as “poverty vows”, beating yourself (physically to them, spiritually in this country), and such, were thought up to keep people thinking, “Now, your just an unworthy slob in God’s eyes, you need to suffer that you might be made worthy for Him to even look at.” That’s a bunch of religious hogwash! The Word of God teaches us that as born again Christians we are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. (2 Corinthians 5:17-21) We have been made the righteousness of God through what Jesus did, we didn’t have to earn it. To say that we must be poor, down-and-out, sick in body, and a multitude of other ills to draw close to God and perfect ourselves is to say that what Jesus did on the cross and in His resurrection was simply not enough to put us, in right standing with God! Brethren, that is just not scriptural; it never has been and never will be!

God wants you to prosper, and more than that, He paid an awesome price that we would have our needs met spiritually, mentally, physically and every other way!

Items of Interest in This Issue

Itinerary… Message about Partnership Month… Two Tape Offers… Explanation of the Vision of Word of Faith Ministries

Bill Bailey Ministries was the name of Dr. Bill’s ministry before Word of Faith Ministries.

“Power!”

Today, more than ever, there is a need for the Body of Christ to operate supernaturally. All one needs to do is read the Book of Acts to see that the New Testament Church operated supernaturally. Well, it’s news to some that we are still the New Testament Church! Jesus said that we were to operate supernaturally as we carried out the “Great Commission,” He said, “…Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature… And these signs shall follow them that believe; In My Name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues, they shall take up serpents; and if. they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover.” By the way, let me clear up something that many folks have twisted in this verse. Notice that it says “they shall” in every one of these cases except the one concerning the drinking of any deadly thing, in this case it says “if.”

It’s not talking about drinking poison or handling snakes to prove your faith; All that does is prove your ignorance! It is talking about divine protection as we go out and spread the Gospel, as Paul did in Acts 28:1-9. When a snake bit him, he shook it off and no harm came to him. He wasn’t looking for snakes to handle, he was looking for firewood! Let’s concentrate on what we are told we “shall” do. Jesus has given us the power that He has, which is “all power” (Matt. 28:18-20)

This power is “to us-ward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power…” (Eph. 1: 19) Now it is up to us to operate with the power He’s given us. No one will be healed in our daily walk unless we lay hands on them! Jesus has given us the power necessary to do it, and we have the hands! We have been given the responsibility to preach The Gospel to this world. The Gospel He was talking about is a supernatural gospel. Notice what He told them in Matthew 10:7, 8, “And as you go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely have ye received, freely give.”

It’s time that we, as born-again, Spirit-filled Christians operate supernaturally!

Items of Interest in This Issue

Radio Schedule… Announcement concerning the resumption of Word of Faith Fellowship, this time in Denton, NC… Announcement and Schedule of the Piedmont Believer’s Convention at the Ramada Inn in Clemmons, NC.

Bill Bailey Ministries was the name of Dr. Bill’s ministry before Word of Faith Ministries.

“What is a Pastor?”

Many people say, “I don’t believe that we really need the pastor’s ministry today, after all, we have good teachers and we have our Bible tapes, right?” WRONG! God would not have given the Body of Christ the gift of the pastor if it were not needed. Eph. 4:11 says, “And He gave some, apostles, and some, prophets; and some evangelists; and some pastors and teachers…” Why did He give these gifts? “For the perfecting (maturing) of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the Body of Christ (vs. 12) In other words, without the FULL Five Fold Ministry in operation you won’t mature properly as a Christian! I believe that all of us want to mature spiritually, but how can we if we reject part of God’s provision for our growth? Some might say, “Well, Brother Bill, I do have a pastor; and he’s pretty good too! Of course, if he’s not taking care of the church grounds… cleaning the bathroom and such, why, we’ll fire him and get somebody else!” Hold on! You just told me that you don’t know what a pastor is!

God set that pastor there supernaturally. He is a gift to you and your church so that you will grow up into Christ. Don’t mistreat your pastor! He’s not there to mow the lawn and clean the bathroom. What is he there to do? To train you in the Word! Now, would you rather have him spend his time getting into the Word of God and prayer so that he can teach you good solid food from the Word, or would you prefer having him drag in tired and preach some cold, sloppy mess? It’s up to you! You do your part, then he can do his!

Speaking of the pastor’s ministry, that of “governments,” W.E. Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words says, “…denotes steering, pilotage…said of those who act as guides in a local church.” The pastor is the leader of the local church. The Helps Ministry aids him in bringing his vision for that church to pass!

Listen to the “Spirit of Faith Broadcast” this month for our special series on the local church with our guests, Larry Boyd, Pastor of New Covenant Church, Winston-Salem, N.C., Debi Early, Co-pastor of New Covenant, Hayden and Cindy LaFon, pastors of the Joy Cathedral, High Point, N.C. Joy and I will be interviewing them on these very special programs!

Items of Interest in This Issue

Radio Schedule… Announcement of the Piedmont Believer’s Convention at the Ramada Inn in Clemmons, NC… Itinerary… Radio Map… Tape Offer… Notice of upcoming East Coast Believer’s Convention in Charlotte, NC